A series of apocalyptic videos is going viral on TikTok, showing images created by the Artificial Intelligence “Midjourney”: The AI is said to predict what the last selfie taken on Earth will look like. These are visions of doom. They seem to fascinate people in a morbid way.
What kind of AI is this? “Midjourney” is an artificial intelligence that creates images. The developers say they want to expand the imagination of the human race. That’s quite a noble goal.
According to its own statements, the project comes from a former researcher at NASA, supported by high-profile advisors (via midjourney).
Millions of people see images of the downfall of civilization
How did the AI become known? The TikTok channel “Robotoverloards” is currently posting short videos featuring the images created by the AI as it answered hypothetical questions and generated images (via tiktok).
The most popular videos revolve around the AI showing apocalyptic scenarios.
The video “Asking an AI to show the last selfie ever taken” has generated over 13 million views on TikTok. The video is so successful that it has now been expanded into a 4-part series.
What do the images show? The AI’s images replicate the classic “selfie motif”: Someone is taking a picture of themselves in front of an expressive background. However, instead of people posing or making strange duck faces, here, bald, emaciated individuals can be seen: Some appear like skeletons or soulfully hollow shells.
Some of these “last humans on Earth” wear a gas mask, one even a type of space suit, and another contorts their face into a smile.
In the background, there are no natural monuments or special locations visible anymore, but devastation, fire, impacts from nuclear weapons or comets.
Some apocalyptic scenarios show a crowd in the background that looks just as emaciated and desperate as the person taking the selfie. In other images of the apocalypse, there are corpses or skyscrapers burning.
AI can be asked on Discord to show anything
Can you ask the AI yourself? Yes, the AI is freely accessible via a Discord bot.
With the command “Imagine,” you can ask the AI to create images in response to your own hypothetical questions.
One user asked the AI to create images of what it would look like if Angela Merkel were a Jedi. Others ask for significantly less gruesome scenarios.
If you want to try it out yourself:
- Find a detailed guide in English with all background information here (via midjourney)
- And here the Discord channel with the bot, to start simply without reading the guide, as is the traditional practice among MMO gamers (Spoiler: Just type /imagine and then type the scenario).
What happens when you challenge the AI was experienced by a 7-year-old boy:
Chess robot breaks 7-year-old boy’s finger: “That is, of course, bad”
